NAWG Weekly Wheat Digest
Please note that this will be the last newsletter before August recess.
The newsletter will pick back up in September.
NAWG in the News
High Plains Journal (July 24, 2017) Join Us in Wichita for Wheat U on August 8
Wheat harvest ended not too long ago, but you’re already thinking about the 2018 crop. High Plains Journal invites you to attend Wheat U, Aug. 8 at the Airport Doubletree Hotel in Wichita, to help you prepare for a profitable 2018…David Schemm and Mike Miller, president of NAWG and chairman of U.S. Wheat Associates – Learn more from these two farmer leaders—Schemm from Sharon Springs, Kansas, and Miller from Ritzville, Washington—about how these organizations work on your behalf in Washington, D.C. and around the world.
Today’s Producer (July 28, 2017) Kansas Farmers Testify on Risk Management Before Senate Ag Committee
Two Kansas farmers testified Tuesday before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, on the value of risk management to their operations. Dan Atkisson of Stockton testified on behalf of the National Sorghum Producers. David Schemm of Sharon Springs spoke for the National Association of Wheat Growers. “Wheat farmers across the nation are experiencing the toughest economic conditions they have faced since the 1980s, and many of the previously mentioned projections don’t show potential for a quick upturn in the farm economy,” said Schemm, who is president of the National Association of Wheat Growers. “This next farm bill will be critically important to farmers. The political and policy dynamics facing Congress this year are much different than the process to write the last farm bill. (Also seen in AgriPulse, Capital Press, High Plains Radio, The Hutchinson News, and KTIC
Wheat in the News
Capital Journal (July 28, 2017) Drought’s Push Upping Crop, Food Prices, Experts Say
The drought across South Dakota deepened a little while shrinking slightly in area, according to the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor map released on Thursday, with 80 percent of the state in some stage of drought as of July 25, down from 82 percent a week earlier. But the amount of the state’s geography rated in extreme drought increased from 11 percent to 15 percent, with large parts of Sully and Haakon Counties in extreme drought…But the worst parts of the drought are in the Dakotas and Montana, according to the Drought Monitor coordinated out of the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. It’s pushing the prices for wheat and hay higher as the drought has shriveled-up fields, pastures and rangeland.
Phys.org (July 26, 2017) Archaeologists Find Key to Tracking Ancient Wheat in Frozen Bronze Age
A Bronze Age wooden container found in an ice patch at 2,650m in the Swiss Alps could help archaeologists shed new light on the spread and exploitation of cereal grains following a chance discovery. The team of archaeologists were expecting to find a milk residue left behind in the container—perhaps from a porridge-type meal wolfed down by a hunter or herder making their way through a snowy Alpine pass. But instead they discovered lipid-based biomarkers for whole wheat or rye grain, called alkylresorcinols.
Reuters (July 24, 2017) EU Wheat Hits Near Four-Week Low on U.S. Slide, Euro Strength
European wheat futures slipped to their lowest in almost four weeks on Monday, pressured by a slide on the U.S. market, better-than-expected harvest results in France and euro strength that clouded the export outlook….Chicago wheat futures also fell to a near four-week low, as weather damage to U.S. spring wheat was seen as priced in while forecast rain weighed on U.S. corn futures. “Even while drought persists and intensifies in U.S. spring wheat areas, the topic is no longer the focus of attention,” consultancy Agritel said in a note.
Successful Farming (July 24, 2017) USDA Can’t Stop the Bleeding in its Crop Ratings
The USDA pegged the U.S. spring wheat crop as 33% good-to-excellent, below 34% a week ago. Al Kluis, Kluis Commodities, says that today’s USDA report is friendly for prices tonight. “Today’s report is friendly for prices tonight. I expect corn to start out 1¢ to 3¢ higher tonight. I expect soybeans to start out 5¢ to 7¢ higher tonight,” says Kluis.
Wheat Industry News
Columbia Basin Herald (July 28, 2017) Congress Allocates Money for Wheat Research
Two congressional committees have included $1 million for research to combat a decline in the quality of the region’s wheat production. “We are fortunate to have congressional leaders from both sides of the aisles who stepped up to support our request,” said Michelle Hennings, executive director of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG)…Of concern is the decline in the “falling number,” a measure of wheat quality, over the last few years. According to information provided by the Washington State University Extension, the “falling number” is the amount of time a special paddle needs to fall through a batch of flour paste made from a wheat sample.
High Plains Public Radio (June 28, 2017) Kansas Wheat Harvest Yields a Mixed Bag
Wheat harvest is in full swing across the High Plains and according to Kansas Wheat, yields in the Sunflower State have been a mixed bag. According to day 12 of the Kansas Wheat Harvest reports, Irsik and Doll Feed Service of Pierceville reported yields of 30 to 40 bushels per acre, while Mid State Farmers Coop of Rush Center reported average yields of 45 to 50 bushels per acre. The highest average yields reported by the WaKeeney branch of Frontier Ag, Inc., were in the 40s.
KFYRTV (July 28, 2017) Wheat Quality Control Tours Sees Low Yields on First Day
The Wheat Quality Council tour makes its way through North Dakota every year to assess the quality of wheat crops. This year… some of the people on the tour say the condition of the land is the worst they’ve ever seen. Withering heat. Engulfing dust. Unrelenting drought…”I was astounded to see how much was rolled up in to bales… how much spring wheat was rolled up into bales,” said Dan Wogsland, executive director of North Dakota Grain Growers Association. Dan Wogsland has been attending the tour for 13 years… And he says this was the worst he’s ever seen.
Source: National Association of Wheat Growers